Airbus in near term will launch a reengined and improved version of its A380 super jumbo airliner to revive its lackluster demand and drive sales.
http://www.aviationanalysis.net/2015/01/airbus-will-launch-a380neo.html
By: TomcatViP - 4th June 2015 at 23:10
It is sad but true. The awkward decision to go for a full two decks fuselage and select the shortest fuselage with the biggest wing that had restricted span will haunt that project forever.
The now classic example of Multi-Billion $ top management failure.
By: Amiga500 - 4th June 2015 at 10:43
Airbus have tried (and seemingly) failed to place A380s with United (the ex-Skymark birds).
It would seem (from United) the trip cost per seat of the A380 isn’t much below the 788, never mind the 777X coming down the road.
I think the lesson here is, never build a shrink first (same for Bombardier and the CS100). Get your optimum product out the door so its reaching its full potential.
Now Airbus are in a quandry. A re-engine alone isn’t really going to cut it. As well as hanging new engines on it, do they re-wing or do they stretch? Somehow they have to generate a paradigm shift in CASM* for the A380 over the big twins, and having a (very) suboptimal fuselage/wing combination isn’t helping.
*It’d need to have 20%+ lower CASM to justify the higher trip costs when load factors are down.
By: Amiga500 - 6th May 2015 at 13:23
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/atm-live-blog-day-3-591744.html
The Doha boss says the carrier’s latest financial results will not be as good as estimated and he has but the blame on Airbus and the delays in delivery of its A380s. “[We’re] not going to get any more A380s unless there is an absolute rethink on this airplane. Airbus have to put hands in their pocket”. Al Baker says he wants new engines that will have a 10 to 15 percent better fuel burn.
Qatar Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said Airbus Group NV should consider a larger variant of its new A350 wide-body and upgrade its A380 superjumbo with new engines to make the jets more appealing.
Airbus’s largest aircraft have struggled to sustain their order momentum, with the A380 in particular failing to win fresh deals in recent years. Al Baker said the double-decker would be a “killer” with a 10 percent to 15 percent lower fuel burn, an advantage Airbus might achieve with new engines, and that he wouldn’t buy more of the planes in its current form.
“This plane has a very big potential but Airbus have to put their hands in their pocket and take this aircraft a step higher,” Al Baker said, declining to give a number of potential follow-up orders should Airbus opt for a neo option.
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January 14, 2015 at 9:02 pm